He opened his eyes, and all he could see was the gentle darkness in the meditation room.
However, this comfort only lasted for a moment. A stranger broke in and accompanied him back to the waking world.
She read his name, and the unique female voice broke the dark silence. Her breath washed the air full of disinfectant smell with her movements.
The soldier reached for her throat, strangled the woman's neck with his huge fist, and lifted her up high while standing up.
The next moment, her shaking boots kicked him weakly, and her mouth could not get a breath of air to nourish her voice.
"Owner......"
Suddenly, he realized that the voice was not a "stranger".
Talos let go of her, and she immediately fell from a height of one meter. Her two soft legs fell to the deck, and she landed on her hands and knees.
"It's...Ottavia."
Talos did not expect that after so many years, the navigator of the Blood Oath would appear in front of him again.
She kept coughing, spitting, and wheezing.
"And...Septimus."
Talos raised his head and saw his former servant and pilot standing at the open doorway, holding a pistol in his trembling hand.
"Although we have some old friendship, I still have to remind you."
Talos said with a smile:
"According to Imperial law, pointing a weapon at an Astartes is a capital offense."
"Master, I thought you lost control again——"
Septimus opened his blind eyes wide. His fear was clearly visible, but he could not hide his firm purpose.
"...I can't let you kill my wife."
"Ah, she is your wife now, I almost forgot."
Talos slowly bent down and stretched out a hand to help Octavia stand up.
She took Talos' hand, but hesitated for a moment.
"It shows how kind the empire is to its people. You have never experienced this kind of treatment on the Blood Oath."
Octavia touched her throat, it was still throbbing and painful.
"It's okay, Septimus, it's okay, there's no need to worry."
Septimus lowered his gun and retracted it into the concealed magazine on his hip while the former navigator brushed loose strands of hair away from his face.
"Taros, what have I done to deserve this welcome?"
"You didn't do anything."
Talos returned to the cold metal slab he used as a lounge chair.
"Forgive me, I'm troubled by some of the things I dreamed about."
"I knocked on the door."
"I believe you, so I also apologize to you."
Talos pressed his palms to his eyes, trying to erase the afterimages left by the hallucination, but the pain still existed in his body, and it was worse than in the past few years - the pulse pounded along the side of his head, making
The pain spreads from the temple like a spider web.
The battle wounds inflicted on Paidu had rapidly increased the pain, and now the pain he felt in his dreams must have done the same.
After more than ten seconds, he slowly raised his head and looked at her.
Octavia's appearance seems to have not changed much, except that her figure and face are much plumper than before, and her complexion is also very healthy. She is wearing a decent lady's dress and a black silk scarf on her forehead to block her navigator's eyes.
There was also a sun hat scattered on the ground, obviously she was living a good life.
Grains
Septimus looked relatively older, with a little belly, and a faint smell of engine oil. Talos probably guessed the other person's occupation.
The three of them shared a silence that was finally broken by Talos.
"Why are you here?"
"Valer..."
Octavia said hesitantly:
"...Said you were feeling a little unwell."
"Do you still have contact with him?"
"Well...he always tells us about little Talos."
"Little Talos——"
Talos showed a troubled smile.
"Did you name him this?"
Octavia nodded silently.
"Now that you have gained this precious freedom, you should completely abandon the past and everything on the Blood Oath, including... me. Why do you still let the past constrain your current life?"
Talos was lying on the bed, covering his eyes with his arms so that the two of them could not see his expression clearly.
"Are you dissatisfied with your current life?"
"Of course not, we are very satisfied with our current life. Septimus opened a machinery maintenance shop in Zhongchao and hired more than thirty workers, which allows us to live a decent life, but...
This is not a reason for us to abandon the past, because it is a part of our lives. Ciel, Selion, Markusen... They will always survive in our memories and our dreams, no matter what they bring
What kind of fear and bloodshed will come, these cannot be abandoned."
"It seems that your life is indeed carefree. The empire takes good care of you and allows you to be in the mood to have random thoughts."
Talos put down his arm, and their eyes met - Octavia's hazel eyes had collided with the sinister black eyes of all the sons of Nostram.
The gaze between the two could not last long. Octavia would get goosebumps all over her body if she stared at any of the Night Lord's enhanced demigod features for too long.
Talos's face is more like a weapon than a man, and the skull under the delicate features has become stronger, like bricks made of bones, as strong as steel, with scars left by surgery on it.
Almost covered by his pale skin, it extended downward from his temples on both sides.
Putting all this aside, Talos undoubtedly has the appearance of a handsome man, but once it grows on this tall warrior, it seems to be some kind of blasphemy.
She remembered clearly that her former masters had an endless hatred for everything, even each other.
But now he has indeed changed.
He faced her gaze with a smile. Fortunately, that action was still human. It was a twisted smile: it once belonged to a boy who had much more in his head than what he said in his mouth.
At that moment, his image seemed to surpass the scarred Midnight Sons on the Bloodsworn ship in the past.
"I think your visit has a purpose."
Talos said, relatively speaking, this is not a problem.
"I don't mean to offend, although I want to say some polite words first, but the ability to use it for small talk... It completely left me after we completely abandoned our mortal nature, one step ahead of anything else.
"
Octavia snorted.
"Is just caring about acquaintances the purpose? What kind of nightmare did you...have?"
Talos smiled at her, the kind of smile that was often hidden inside his helmet.
"You don't want to know."
"Is it a prophecy?"
"I cannot draw a conclusion. The difference between a prophecy and a nightmare is not always easy to detect. This is a memory that becomes distorted and dirty as it approaches the end. It is neither a prophetic vision nor a real dream."
"Like... your Primarch?"
She looked away, not daring to look into his eyes.